2013: The Year of the Beer

Another year’s about to be put down in the books; let’s reminiscence on the past twelve months, shall we?

·         We visited 18 new Colorado breweries (most within their first few months of operation, many within a day or two): Cannonball Creek Brewing Company, Hogshead Brewery, DeSteeg Brewing, Brewery Rickoli, Wild Mountain Smokehouse & Brewery, West Flanders Brewing Co., Shine Restaurant & Gathering Place, City Star Brewing, Loveland Aleworks, Verboten Brewing, Mountain Toad Brewing, Odyssey Beerwerks, Beer By Design Brewery, FATE Brewing Company, BRU Handbuilt Ales, Wild Woods Brewery, plus Barrels & Bottles Brewery and Black Sky Brewery which we visited but didn’t get around to writing a post about.

·         In addition, we also visited 17 out-of-state breweries: Black Acre Brewing Co., Brugge Brasserie, 4 Hands Brewing Co., Yellow Springs Brewery, The Church Brew Works, Long Valley Pub & Brewery, Trinity Brewhouse, Sea Dog Brewing Co. (sort of), Cambridge Brewing Co., Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams), Harpoon Brewery, Mad Anthony Brewing Company, 75th Street Brewery, Fate Brewing Company, Papago Brewing Co., Four Peaks Brewing Company (sort of), and Sun Up Brewing Co.

·         It was also a year of beer events—11, all told: Strange Days, Former Future’s tasting event at the Oxford Hotel, Front Range Rally, Denver Epic Beer Festival, Biergarten Festival, 2013 Beer Bloggers Conference, Fermentation Festival, 2013 Great American Beer Festival, Beethoven & Brews, Upslope’s 5^th Anniversary, and Parade of Darks.  

·         To elaborate more on the Beer Bloggers Conference (BBC), it was, like Nicole and I’s previous BBC experience, more fun than should ever be allowed.  We met plenty of beer friends both new and old and I had the great honor of meeting Jim Koch and drinking a $190 beer poured by his very hands.  Also, in a beer swap, Zack of Raising the Barstool gave us Sam Adams’ Brewlywed Ale for Nicole and I’s impending nuptials; thanks again, Zack. 

·         I reached a milestone 500 unique beers on Untappd.  At the exact time of this writing, I’ve nearly doubled that with 862 unique beers. 

·         I received a killer pair of authentic lederhosen to wear at German-themed events, beer events, and, if Nicole would allow me, everyday errands and activities. 

·         An article I wrote for Denver off the Wagon (click here) spawned a segment on 9 News (click here). 

And that just about sums up the year, folks; here’s to you and yours and all the new beer you’ll drink in 2014!

Prost!

Chris

2013 was supposed to be the year in which I wrote about my adventures in cooking with beer.  While I did do a lot of cooking with fine, Colorado brews, I never actually got around to writing much about it.  While at the Beer Bloggers Conference, our friend Zack inspired me to start testing recipes and eventually write my own cookbook so I rushed home, found several recipes, and made a delicious beer pairing dinner for our friends.  I took pictures, I took notes, but that was about as far as I got.  Thus, my New Year’s resolution is to sit down and write about the recipes, the beers I used, and the pairings that go with them.  Someday I will get to that cookbook.  Hopefully.

Nicole